The Civil Rights
Movement
(1950–1968)
Civil Rights
Positive acts of government
that seek to make
constitutional guarantees a
reality for all people….
No discrimination on basis of
race, sex, religious belief, etc.
Civil Rights Acts
Voting Amendments
After
Reconstruction
and the beginning
Segregation and
Jim Crow laws.
social reality
•In 1870, 15th Amendment, Black men and former were
given the right to vote.
•After Reconstruction 1876, Southern states kept
Blacks from voting and segregated, or separating
people by the color of their skin in public facilities.
•Jim Crow laws, laws at the local and state
level which segregated whites from blacks
and kept African Americans as 2nd class
citizens and from voting.
•poll taxes
•literacy tests
•grandfather clause
social reality
Poll Taxes: Before you could vote, you had
to pay taxes to vote. Most poor Blacks
could not pay the tax so they didn’t vote.
Literacy Test: You had to prove you could
read and write before you could vote….
Once again, most poor Blacks were not
literate.
Grandfather clause: If your grandfather
voted in the 1864 election than you could
vote…..Most Blacks did not vote in 1864, so
you couldn’t vote….

Crime for any individual to deny full equal
use of public facilities and public places.

Prohibited discrimination in jury
selection.


Shortcoming  lacked a strong
enforcement mechanism.
No new civil rights act was attempted or
90 years!
The Struggle for African
American Suffrage
African American Vote After Slavery
1865
Civil War ends
Reconstruction
begins
1900s-1940s Jim Crow
laws prevent African
Americans from voting
1870s
Reconstruction
ends. 15th
Amendment
Plessy vs
Ferguson effected
social equality for
Black Americans
from 1896 to 1960’s
1950s-1960s
Civil Rights
movement begins.
Voting Restrictions for African
Americans in the South, 1889-1950’s
Which way will the scale tip?
Social equality vs. legal equality
social reality
Plessy vs.
Ferguson, 1896
Supreme Court legalized
segregation throughout
the nation.
•“Separate but Equal”
as long as public
facilities were equal
•Problem: Black
facilities never equal
to White facilities
Plessy vs. Ferguson, 1896
US would be
segregated
until the
1960’s.
Black leadership
at the turn of the
th
20 century.
Booker T. Washington
How do Black Americans overcome segregation?
Southern Perspective
•Former slave
•Wrote a book/Up From Slavery
•Don’t confront segregation head on
•Before you are considered equal in society--must be
self sufficient like most Americans
•Stressed vocational education for Black Americans
•Gradualism and economic self-sufficiency
•Founder of Tuskegee Institute
Speech given by Booker T. Washington in
Atlanta, Sept. 18, 1895, at the Atlanta World
Exposition.
• Booker T. Washington, founder of
Tuskegee Institute, was a black leader in
education in the South.
• Many of those who viewed this speech
saw it as a willingness on the part of
Washington accept social inequality in
return for economic equality and security
for the southern blacks.
Freedmen’s
Bureau 4
W.E.B. Dubois
How do Black Americans overcome segregation?
Northern Perspective
• Fought for immediate Black equality in society
• Talented 10%: Demanded the top 10% of the
talented Black population be placed into the “power
positions”
• Gain equality by breaking into power structure
• Founder of NAACP
 National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People
Begins in 1906 in a meeting at Niagara Falls,
Canada in opposition to Booker T.
Washington’s philosophy of accepting
segregation.
1. Encourage of Black pride
2. Demand for full political and civil equality
3. No acceptance of segregation----opposed Booker T.
Washington’s “gradualism”.
4. Gain acceptance of white reformers.
5. Formation of the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1906
with Dubois as the editor of the NAACP’s journal, The
Crisis
6. National Urban League in 1911 supported DuBois
Improving Conditions for
African Americans
Lynching – Ida Wells – The Red Record.
The Anti-Lynching Campaign
“No torture of helpless victims by heathen
savages or cruel red Indians ever
exceeded the cold-blooded savagery of
white devils under lynch law. This was
done by white men who controlled all the
forces of law and order in their
communities and who could have legally
punished rapists and murderers,
especially black men who had neither
political power nor financial strength with
which to evade any justly deserved
fate…the Southerner ha[s] never gotten
over his resentment that the Negro was no
longer his plaything, his servant, and his
source of income.”
(Crusade for Justice, 1928)
Ida B. Wells
According to the Tuskegee Institute,
4,742 lynchings
occurred between 1882-1968.
90% of the victims were Southern
black
27% of the victims were white
73% of the victims were
South’s Backlash1
Lynchings of
Whites/Blacks
0 to 20
20 to 60
60 to 100
100 to 200
200 or more
Lynching took the place of “the
merry-go-round, the theatre,
symphony orchestra” (H.L. Mencken)
For which crime was someone
lynched?
For illegal crimes, such as murder, rape, or theft
But also, people were lynched for insulting a white
person, buying a car…
Or even, especially if it was a black lynching, for no
crime at all. Just to remind blacks to stay in their
place.
Marion, Indiana -- 1930
Anti-Lynching Legislation
Dyer Bill (1921) Provisions:
 Lynching: “murder of a U.S. citizen
by a mob of 3+ people
 Sheriff/official who fails to protect
prisoner is guilt of felony
 U.S. government can prosecute
lynchers if state government does
not
 County in which lynching occurs
must pay
$10,000 to victim’s family
Anti-Lynching
Wagner-Costigan
Bill (1934)
Legislation
Provisions:
 mob: 3+ persons
 State officer’s neglect--->5 yr prison
sentence and $5,000 fine
 Conspirators-->5-25 yr prison sentence
 County where lynching occurs: $2,000$10,000 fine (to family, or to federal
government if there is no family)
 To prove that summary execution does
not save the public money
Does not openly condemn lynchingcriminalizes negligence by officials
Was also defeated by Southern
Senators in a filibuster
Anti-Lynching Legislation
Wagner-Van Nuys Bill + Gavagan Bill (1937)
 Pro-legislation senators willing to
protest the filibuster, but faced strong
dissent from Southern senators
 FDR decided not to speak out against
the filibuster
 The anti-lynching movement had seventy
senators and therefore, had the
opportunity to challenge the filibuster
and force a vote. But not all seventy
were willing to challenge FDR’s decision
nor stir resentment in Southern senators
because of their control over several
committees
Presidential Reactions to Lynching
“loosening of the bonds of civilization”
black man’s runaway sexual appetite
educated blacks could help eliminate the practice
of lynching if they turned in fellow colored
criminals to the state
Teddy Roosevelt
Any American “who takes part in the action of a
mob…is no true son of this great democracy, but
its betrayer”
Woodrow Wilson, as motivated by the NAACP
Lynching is a “very sore spot on our boast of
civilization”
Congress ought to wipe the stain of barbaric
lynching from the banners of a free and orderly,
representative democracy” (1921)
Warren Harding
On Monday, June 12, 2005, the Senate passed a
non-binding resolution apologizing for not
enacting anti-lynching legislation.
The Senate "expresses the deepest
sympathies and most solemn
regrets of the Senate to the
descendants of victims of lynching,
the ancestors of whom were
deprived of life, human dignity and
the constitutional protections
accorded all citizens of the United
States."
Migration and the New Deal
• In the years between the Civil War
and the 1940s, many African
Americans migrated from the South
to northern cities.
• During the Depression, Roosevelt
and others courted black votes to
support New Deal initiatives.
• Under Roosevelt, the number of
African Americans working for the
federal government rose
significantly.
World War II and the NAACP
• A shortage of labor during World
War II led many more African
Americans to the North.
• As Americans fought a war
against discrimination in Europe,
many began to think about the
discrimination taking place at
home.
• The National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People
(NAACP) worked hard in the
courts to challenge segregation
laws.
Other Civil Rights Organizations
The National Urban League
• Founded in 1911, the National
Urban League helped African
Americans who were moving
to northern cities.
• The League helped African
Americans find homes and
jobs in the cities, and insisted
that employers help them
learn skills which could lead
to better jobs.
The Congress of Racial Equality
• In 1942, the Congress of
Racial Equality (CORE) was
founded to help bring about
change peacefully.
• Like the NAACP, CORE was
an interracial organization
which argued against
discrimination and
segregation.
• CORE came to have a major
role in civil rights
confrontations of the 1950s
and 1960s.
Laying the Groundwork: The NAACP
•
•
•
•
Although the civil rights movement had no one central
organization, several groups formed to share information and
coordinate activities. One of these was the National Association
for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
The NAACP was founded in 1909 as an interracial organization,
one with both African American and white American members.
W.E.B. Du Bois, a founding member, helped define the NAACP’s
goals.
During the 1920s and 1930s, the NAACP won many legal victories,
especially in the areas of housing and education.
Despite these victories, the NAACP received criticism from poorer
African Americans, who claimed that it was out of touch with the
issues of basic economic survival.
Early Civil Rights Legislation
•After WWII, Civil Rights movement began
to gain momentum
•1954, Rosa Parks and the Montgomery
Bus Strike
•1954, Plessy vs. Ferguson is overturned
by Supreme Court with Brown vs. Board of
Education Topeka, Kansas case.
•Martin Luther King, Jr., became the Civil
Rights leader.
•1958, Little Rock Nine entered Central
High School
civil rights
December 1955, Rosa Parks, a 42 yr. old
Black woman was ordered by a
Montgomery bus driver to give up her
seat to white passengers.
•Refused, arrested and fined
$10 for sitting in the white
section.
•Blacks refused to ride
buses until the law was
changed.
•Begins the Civil Rights Era
as a national movement to
bring about equality for
Black Americans.
Rosa parks
Rosa Parks
Rosa Parks was born on
February 4, 1913. She grew
up in Pine Level, Alabama,
right outside of
Montgomery.
In the South, Jim Crow laws
segregated African
American’s and whites in
almost every aspect of life.
– This included a seating
policy on buses. White’s
sat in the front, Blacks
sat in the back.
– Buses also drove White
students to school. Black
students were forced to
walk everyday.
Events Leading Up To Rosa’s Protest
Parks was an active member of The Civil Rights
Movement and joined the Montgomery chapter of
NAACP (National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People) in 1943.
In 1944 Jackie Robinson refused to give up his bus
seat in Texas.
In 1955, Black Activist in Montgomery were
building a case around Claudette Colvin, a 15
year old girl who refused to give up her seat on a
bus. She was arrested and forcibly removed from
the bus.
African Americans made up 75% of the
passengers in the Bus system but still had to deal
with unfair rules.
The Arrest
On December 1, 1955 Rosa
Parks refused to give up
her seat to a White man on
a bus.
Parks was arrested and
charged with the violation
of a segregation law in The
Montgomery City Code.
50 African American
leaders in the community
met to discuss what to do
about Rosa’s arrest.
“People always say that I
didn't give up my seat because
I was tired, but that isn't true.
I was not tired physically, or
no more tired than I usually
was at the end of a working
day. I was not old, although
some people have an image of
me as being old then. I was
forty-two. No, the only tired I
was, was tired of giving in.” Rosa Parks Autobiography
Montgomery Bus Boycott
On December 5, 1955,
through the rain, the
African Americans in
Montgomery began to
boycott the busses.
40,000 Black commuters
walked to work, some as
far as twenty miles.
The boycott lasted 382
days.
The bus companies
finances struggled.
Until the law that called
for segregation on
busses was finally lifted.
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
The Montgomery Bus Boycott
• Background of the Boycott — In December 1955, an African
American seamstress named Rosa Parks was seized by the police in
Montgomery, Alabama when she refused to give up her seat on a bus
to a white man.
• Organization of the Boycott — In response, civil rights leaders,
including Martin Luther King, Jr., organized a boycott of the
Montgomery bus system.
• The Bus Boycott — Over the next year, 50,000 African Americans
boycotted the city bus system, choosing to walk, ride bicycles, or
carpool instead.
• Results of the Bus Boycott — Despite losing money, the bus
company refused to change its policies. Finally, in 1956, the Supreme
Court ruled that bus segregation was unconstitutional.
The Murder of Emmett Till (1955)
August, 1955, a fourteen year old
boy visiting his cousin in Money,
Mississippi had whistled at a
white woman, Carolyn Bryant in a
grocery store. Emmett Till was
murdered, lynched, by two white
men, J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant,
that evening.
Despite their arrests, the two men
were eventually acquitted by an
all white jury.
New developments in 2004
allowed for the trial to be
reopened, based on new evidence
that suggested more people may
have been involved.
Rosa
parks
•Rosa Parks case led to the
Montgomery Bus Boycott against
segregation on public buses.
•Led by Martin Luther King, Jr.
•Montgomery City Government ended
segregation.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
•Leader for Black Civil Rights
•End Jim Crow
•Promote integration
•Increase voting rights
•Bring about a true democracy
•Rights deprived since Civil War
Martin Luther King Jr.
 Born in Atlanta, Georgia.
 Graduated Morehouse College with a
Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology.
 Later, at Boston University, King
received a Ph.D. in systematic theology.
 In 1953, at the age of 26, King became
pastor at the Dexter Avenue Baptist
Church in Montgomery Alabama.
 His start as a Civil Rights
leader came during the
Montgomery Bus Boycott.
Career As A Leader
 In 1955 he became involved in The
Montgomery Bus Boycott. The
Boycott was the start to his
incredible career as the most
famous leader of the Civil Rights
movement.
 He went on to deliver numerous
powerful speeches promoting
peace and desegregation.
 During The March On
Washington he delivered one of
the most famous speeches of 20th
century titled, “I Have A Dream”
 Before he was assassinated in
1968, he won the Nobel Peace
Prize.
Civil Disobedience
 In 1957 King helped found the Southern
Christian Leadership Conference
(SCLC).
 A group that used the authority and
power of Black churches to organize
non-violent protest to support the Civil
Rights Movement.
 King believed in the philosophy used
by Gandhi in India known as
nonviolent civil disobedience. He
applied this philosophy to protest
organized by the SCLC.
 The civil disobedience led to media
coverage of the daily inequities
suffered by Southern Blacks.
 The televised segregation violence led
to mass public sympathy. The Civil
Rights Movement became the most
important political topic during the
early 60’s.
The Philosophy of Nonviolence
Chapter 21, Section 2
•
•
•
•
Rising civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr.,
encouraged a philosophy of nonviolence among civil rights
activists.
In 1957, King and other African American clergymen founded the
Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). SCLC would
become a significant civil rights organization in the years ahead.
SCLC advocated nonviolent protest, a peaceful way of protesting
against restrictive racial policies. Nonviolent protesters were
encouraged not to fight back even when attacked.
The formation of SCLC shifted the focus of the civil rights
movement to the South and brought African American church
leaders such as King to its forefront.
Dr. King Leads the Way
King’s Influences
• Martin Luther King, Jr., was
influenced by the beliefs and
work of Mohandas Gandhi
and Henry David Thoreau,
both of whom advocated
nonviolence.
• Gandhi had helped India gain
its independence in 1947.
• Thoreau had advocated civil
disobedience in the mid1800s.
King’s Actions
• After the Montgomery bus
boycott, King began training
volunteers for what they
might expect in the months
ahead.
• Those who rode the newly
integrated buses were
encouraged to follow the
principles of nonviolence.
• King became a prominent
figure in almost every major
civil rights event, winning the
Nobel peace prize in 1964 for
his work.
A New Voice for Students
• A new civil rights group run by young activists, the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC),
began in 1960 at a meeting in Raleigh, North Carolina.
• SNCC soon became an independent civil rights
organization. Its members sought immediate change,
as opposed to the gradual change advocated by most
older organizations.
• One of SNCC’s most influential leaders was Robert
Moses, a Harvard graduate student and mathematics
teacher. Moses led with a quiet, humble style which
earned him the admiration of his followers.
Brown vs. Board of Education,
Topeka, Kansas
May 1954, the Supreme Court overturned Plessy v.
Ferguson and the "separate but equal" doctrine.
Segregation of children in public schools on the basis
of race was unconstitutional and discrimination.
States ordered to integrate their schools.
Brown vs. board
• In 1951, Oliver Brown wanted his 8-year-old daughter to
attend a Topeka, Kansas school, which only white children
were permitted to attend.
• Brown sued the Topeka Board of Education, and his case
reached the Supreme Court. Thurgood Marshall of the
NAACP argued Brown’s case.
• On May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued its ruling in the
Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas case. In
this ruling, the court supported Brown’s case for
desegregation, stating that, “Separate educational facilities
are inherently unequal.”
• A year later, the Court ruled that local school boards should
move to desegregate “with all deliberate speed.”
• Many Americans, both white and African American,
rejoiced at the Brown ruling. Others accepted the
decision although they did not agree with it, hoping
that desegregation could take place peacefully.
• Many southern whites, especially in the Deep South,
vehemently opposed the ruling. Congressional
representatives of states in the Deep South joined
together to protest the decision, claiming that it
violated states’ rights.
little rock
•Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas was the
first high school in the South to integrate.
•1958, President Eisenhower sent Federal troops to
accompany the nine black students attending an all white
high school...
Resistance in Little Rock
Opposition to Integration
• In the fall of 1957, Arkansas
Governor Orval Faubus felt that
enforcing integration, or the
bringing together of different
races, would create chaos.
• Faubus therefore posted
Arkansas National Guard troops
at Central High School in Little
Rock, instructing them to turn
away the nine African American
students who were supposed to
attend that school.
• Mobs of angry protesters joined
the National Guard in intimidating
the African American students.
Government Response
• Faubus’s actions defied the
Brown decision. President
Eisenhower viewed these actions
as a challenge to the Constitution
and to his authority as President.
• Eisenhower placed the National
Guard under federal command
and sent soldiers to Arkansas to
protect the nine students.
Early Civil Rights Legislation
•President Eisenhower signed into
law the following Civil Rights laws.
Civil
Rights
Act of
1957
Civil
Rights
Act of
1960
• Created the United States Civil
Rights Commission
• Investigated and reported voter
discrimination
• Gave the Attorney General the power
to require federal courts to issue
orders to prevent any interference
with a person’s right to vote
• Created federal voting referees who
helped correct conditions to prevent
voter discrimination
Members of the Civil Rights Movement used
a variety of methods to get results. These
included practicing non-violence and passive
resistance (sit-ins, boycotts, freedom
rides, etc.) as encouraged by Dr. King.
civil rights
Sit-ins Challenge Segregation
• CORE created the sit-in in 1943 as a tactic to
desegregate the Jack Spratt Coffee House in Chicago.
The sit-in became a common, and powerful, tactic of
the civil rights movement.
• During a sit-in, protesters sat down in a segregated
public place, such as a lunch counter, refusing to
leave until they were served.
• Sit-ins brought strong reactions in some places.
People opposed to desegregation would sometimes
mock, beat, or pour food on the protesters. Many sitin participants were arrested and sent to jail.
1980, Greensboro,
NC sit in at a
Woolworth’s lunch
counter
Blacks were not
allowed to sit a the
counter because of
Jim Crow laws.
Integration at “Ole Miss”
•
•
•
•
In 1961, James Meredith, an African American student at Jackson
State College, applied for admission to the all-white University of
Mississippi, known as “Ole Miss.”
When Meredith was rejected, he sought help from the NAACP. The
NAACP argued that Meredith’s application had been rejected on
racial grounds. When the case reached the Supreme Court,
Meredith’s claim was upheld.
Meredith continued to face problems as he enrolled at Ole Miss.
Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett personally blocked Meredith’s
way to the admissions office, and violence erupted on campus.
The situation became a standoff between the governor and the
Justice Department. President Kennedy sent federal marshals to
escort Meredith around campus.
Kennedy on Civil Rights
•
•
•
•
During the 1960 presidential campaign, Kennedy won the support
of many African American voters.
Kennedy had voted for civil rights measures in the Senate but had
not actively supported them. As President, he moved slowly on
civil rights issues, not wanting to anger southern Democrats.
Hours after Kennedy had given a speech against discrimination,
civil rights leader Medgar Evers was murdered. This murder made
it clear that government action was needed.
After violence erupted in Birmingham in 1963, Kennedy
introduced a stronger civil rights bill than he had originally
planned. This bill called for an end to segregation in public places
and in situations where federal funding was involved.
Kennedy on Civil Rights
JFK meeting with African American leaders.
Clash in Birmingham
Chapter 21, Section 3
Marches in Birmingham
• In April 1963, Martin Luther King
joined the Reverend Fred
Shuttlesworth in a civil rights
campaign in Birmingham,
Alabama.
• City officials ordered civil rights
protesters to end the march that
was part of this campaign. When
they did not, King and others
were arrested.
• While in Birmingham Jail, King
wrote a famous letter defending
his tactics and his timing.
Response to the Marches
• King was released more than a
week later and continued the
campaign, making the difficult
decision to allow young people to
participate.
• Police attacked the marchers with
high-pressure fire hoses, police
dogs, and clubs. As television
cameras captured the violence,
Americans around the country
were horrified.
Letter From a Birmingham Jail
 King, wrote the letter after being
arrested at a peaceful protest in
Birmingham, Alabama.
 The letter was in response to a
letter sent to him by eight Alabama
Clergymen called, “A Call For
Unity.”
 The men recognized that injustices
were occurring in Birmingham but
believed that the battles for
freedom should be fought in the
courtroom in not in the streets.
 In the letter, “Letter from
Birmingham Jail,” King justified
civil disobedience by saying that
without forceful action, true civil
rights would never be achieved.
Direct action is justified in the face
of unjust laws.
Letters From a Birmingham Jail (cont.)

In the letter King justifies
civil disobedience in the
town of Birmingham.
 “I cannot sit idly in
Atlanta and not be
concerned about what
happens in Birmingham.
Injustice anywhere is a
threat to justice
everywhere.”
“There can be no gain saying the fact that racial injustice
engulfs this community.
Birmingham is probably the most thoroughly segregated
city in the United States. Its ugly record of brutality is
widely known. Negroes have experienced grossly unjust
treatment in the courts.”
Letters From a Birmingham Jail (cont.)
 “Oppressed people
cannot remain
oppressed forever. The
yearning for freedom
eventually manifests
itself.”
 “We know through painful experience that
freedom is never voluntarily given by the
oppressor, it must be demanded by the
oppressed.
 “Wait has almost always meant 'never.‘”
•End Jim Crow
•Promote integration
•Increase voting rights
•Bring about a true
democracy
•Give Civil Rights to
Black people that they
should of received
after the Civil War.
civil rights
•August of 1963, Civil
Rights March on
Washington, Martin
Luther King gives his “I
Have a Dream Speech”.
•Considered to be one of
the best speeches in
American History.
I Have A Dream Speech



In a powerful speech, Martin Luther
King Jr. stated eloquently that he
desired a world were Black’s and
whites to coexist equally.
King’s speech was a rhetoric example
oh the Black Baptist sermon style.
The speech used The Bible, The
Declaration of Independence, The
United States Constitution and The
Emancipation Proclamation as
sources. He also used an incredible
number of symbols in his poetic
address.
I Have A Dream Speech (cont.)
 The powerful words of Martin Luther King Jr.
 “I have a dream that one day this nation will



rise up and live out the true meaning of its
creed: - 'We hold these truths to be selfevident, that all men are created equal.’”
“I have a dream that one day even the state of
Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of
injustice, sweltering with the heat of
oppression, will be transformed into an oasis
of freedom and justice.”
“I have a dream that my four little children
will one day live in a nation where they will
not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character.”
“black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles,
Protestants and Catholics - will be able to join
hands and sing in the words of the old Negro
spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank
God Almighty, we are free at last!"
FREEDOM SUMMERS AND RIDERS During the summers of
1961 to 1964, groups of Civil Rights activists boarded buses
bound for the South to register African Americans civil
torights
vote.
The Freedom Rides
The Purpose of the Freedom Rides
• The 1960 Supreme Court case
Boynton v. Virginia expanded the
earlier ban on bus segregation to
include bus stations and
restaurants that served interstate
travelers.
• In 1961, CORE and SNCC
organized the Freedom Rides to
test southern compliance with
this ruling.
Violence Greets the Riders
• Although the freedom riders
expected confrontation, the
violence which greeted a bus in
Anniston, Alabama, was more
than they had anticipated.
• A heavily armed white mob
disabled the bus and then set it
on fire. As riders escaped from
the bus, they were beaten by the
mob.
Reaction to the Freedom Rides
• Americans were horrified by the violence which had
greeted the bus in Anniston.
• Despite the potential danger involved, Freedom Rides
continued during the summer. Many riders were arrested.
• Attorney General Robert Kennedy had originally been
opposed to lending federal support to the Freedom Rides.
However, he later sent federal marshals to protect the
riders.
• Kennedy also pressured the Interstate Commerce
Commission to prohibit segregation in all interstate
transportation. The Justice Department began to sue
communities that did not comply.
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
The Law
The Aftermath
• More far-reaching than the
Civil Rights Acts of 1957
and 1960, the Civil Rights
Act of 1964 abolished the
use of voter registration or a
literacy requirement to
discriminate against any
voter.
• The violent response of
civilians and police and
state troopers to a voter
registration drive mounted
by Dr. Martin Luther King,
Jr. in Selma, Alabama
showed that the Civil Rights
Acts of 1957, 1960 and 1964
were still not enough to
ensure voter equality.
• Its enforcement relied on
judicial action and the use
of injunctions—court
orders that either force or
restrain specific acts.
• Led to the 24th Amendment
and Voting Rights Act of
1965.
The Selma March and Legal Landmarks
The Selma March
• To call attention to the issue of
voting rights, King and other
leaders decided to organize
marchers to walk from Selma,
Alabama, to Montgomery, about
50 miles away.
• Violence erupted at the start of
the march. President Johnson
sent military assistance to
protect the marchers.
• When the march resumed, more
people joined it, making a total of
about 25,000 marchers.
Legal Landmarks
• The Voting Rights Act of 1965
allowed federal officials to
register voters in places where
local officials were preventing
African Americans from
registering. It also effectively
eliminated literacy tests and
other barriers to voting.
• The Twenty-fourth Amendment to
the Constitution, ratified in 1964,
outlawed the poll tax, which was
still in effect in several southern
states.
•March from
Selma, Alabama
to Montgomery,
Alabama to
register to
vote…..
•Two marches:
• March 3, 1965,
1st march was
unsuccessful.
March 15, 1965, President Johnson
introduced the Voting Rights Act.
March 21, 1965, MLK
led a 2nd march from
Selma to
Montgomery.
President Johnson
sent in the National
Guard to protect
marchers.
Successful in
registering 3200
African Americans.
August 1965, President Johnson signed into
law the Voting Rights Act.
Fighting for the Vote
Freedom Summer
• In 1964, leaders of the major civil
rights groups organized a voter
registration drive in Mississippi.
• About 1,000 African American
and white volunteers participated
in what came to be called
Freedom Summer.
• Violence plagued Freedom
Summer as volunteers were
beaten, shot at, arrested, and
murdered. African American
churches and homes were
burned and firebombed.
The Democratic Convention
• Members of SNCC along with
newly registered Mississippi
voters organized the Mississippi
Freedom Democratic Party
(MFDP).
• The MFDP sent delegates to the
1964 Democratic national
convention, insisting that they
were the rightful representatives
from Mississippi.
• President Johnson offered the
MFDP two of Mississippi’s 68
seats. The MFDP rejected the
offer, believing that it fell short of
their goals.
Civil Rights Workers
Andrew Goodman
James Chaney
Michael Schwerner
Defendants
Cecil Price
Lawrence Rainey
Wayne Roberts
Edgar Ray Killen
Sam Bowers
FBI INVESTIGATORS
Joseph Sullivan
John Proctor
African-American
Civil Rights Law
•President Johnson
meeting MLK
discussing Civil
Rights.
Abolished the use of voter
Civil Rights
registration or a literacy
Act of 1964
requirement to discriminate
against any voter.
24th
Amend
ment
(1964)
•President Johnson’s
support of Civil
Rights was
Voting
continuation of
Rights
President Kennedy’s Act of 1965
stand on Civil Rights.
Banned the poll tax.
Banned literacy tests in
counties where over half of
eligible voters had been
disenfranchised.
civil rights
The Civil Rights Act of 1964
Johnson’s Role
• After Kennedy was
assassinated, President
Johnson worked to build
support for Kennedy’s civil
rights bill.
• The house passed the bill,
but civil rights opponents
in the Senate stalled it with
a filibuster. This technique
involved preventing a vote
on a measure by taking the
floor and refusing to stop
talking.
The Act Is Passed
• Johnson countered the
filibuster with a procedure
called cloture, a threefifths vote to limit debate
and call for a vote.
• In June 1964, the Senate
voted for cloture. Soon
afterwards, the bill passed,
becoming the Civil Rights
Act of 1964.
Provisions of the Civil Rights Act
Some Provisions of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
• Title I — Banned the use of different voter registration standards
for blacks and whites
• Title II — Prohibited discrimination in public accommodations
such as restaurants, hotels, and theaters
• Title VI — Allowed the withholding of federal funds from
programs that practice discrimination
• Title VII — Banned discrimination on the basis of race, sex,
religion, or national origin by employers and unions and created
the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
civil rights
•
Liberation and segregation of Black
people not integration was Malcolm
X's message. Believed MLK was
moving too slow.
•
Malcolm X became a powerful force
in the Nation of Islam movement. His
fervor and charismatic personality
helping to swell the ranks.
• Conflict with Elijah Muhammad
eventually followed and Malcolm X
left the NOI after a pilgrimage to
Mecca, where he saw "sincere and
true brotherhood practiced by all
colors together irrespective of their
color."
•
Malcolm X was killed three months
before his 40th birthday while giving
a speech at the Audubon Ballroom in
Harlem, NY on Feb. 21, 1965.
Malcolm X
X Born in Omaha Nebraska, Malcolm Little was
the son of a Baptist preacher who urged Blacks
to stand up for their rights.
X His father was killed by White Supremacist in
Michigan, in 1931.
X After time, Malcolm moved to Harlem where he
became involved in gambling, drug dealing and
robbery.
X Malcolm Was Arrested at the age
of 20 for armed robbery. In jail
he studied the teaching of the
Elijah Muhammad.
Elijah Muhammad
X Elijah Muhammad was the leader
of the mostly Black political and
religious group The Nation Of
Islam.
 His teachings, often perceived as
racist, preached complete
separation from Whites in
society.
 He often expressed the idea the
Blacks were the first people to
rule the world and that the
Whites tricked them out of
power and oppressed them.
 Young Malcolm X developed his
adept speaking skills and
political ideas under the
direction of Elijah Muhammad.
Nation Of Islam
X The Nation Of Islam
(NOI) was an activist
group that believed that
most African slaves
were originally Muslim.
X The NOI urged African
Americans to reconvert
to Islam in effort to
restore the heritage that was stolen from them.
X The NOI wanted to create a second Black
nation within the United States.
X The “X” in Malcolm’s name symbolizes the
rejection of his slave name.
Malcolm X: The Activist
X Malcolm X made constant
accusations of racism and
demanded violent actions
of self defense.
X He constantly retold the
injustices his people
suffered in the past.
X Malcolm X gathered wide
spread admiration from
African American’s and
wide spread fear from
Whites. However White
college students could not
ignore the harsh realities of
his preaching's.
Malcolm X Speaks, 1965
X “Be peaceful, be
courteous, obey the law,
respect everyone; but if
someone puts his hand
on you, send him to the
cemetery.”
X “Nobody can give you
freedom. Nobody can
give you equality or
justice or anything. If
you're a man, you take
it.”
X “You can't separate peace
from freedom because no
one can be at peace
unless he has his
freedom.”
Tension In The Nation Of
Islam
X
By the start of the 60’s Tension
was growing in The Nation of
Islam.
 Malcolm X was exposed to
rumors that Elijah
Muhammad had indulged in
extramarital affairs.
 Adultery is shunned in the
Muslim doctrine.
X Malcolm Believed that Elijah
Muhammad was jealous of his
increasing popularity.
X The Nation of Islam blamed
Malcolm X for his
controversial remarks
regarding John F. Kennedy Jr.
The JFK Controversy
X
After the assassination of
John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X
made a speech.
 Malcolm claimed that the
violence Kennedy failed to
prevent ended up to come
back and claim his life.
 He stated that assassination
was an example of “the
chickens coming home to
roost"
 He later stated, "Chickens
coming home to roost never
made me sad. It only made
me glad."
 This comment lead to
widespread public dismay.
Pilgrimage to Mecca
X In 1964, during a pilgrimage to Mecca,
Malcolm discovered that orthodox Muslims
preach equality among races.
X Malcolm’s new knowledge and growing
distrust with the NOI, caused him to desert his
argument that all Whites are the devil.
X Malcolm X never abandoned his theory that
Racism had destroyed the nation and that only
Blacks could free themselves.
X In 1965 Malcolm X was assassinated by a Black
Muslim at a New York City rally.
Malcolm X Quotes (On King)
X He got the peace prize, we got the problem.... If
I'm following a general, and he's leading me into
a battle, and the enemy tends to give him
rewards, or awards, I get suspicious of him.
Especially if he gets a peace award before the
war is over.
X I'll say nothing against him. At one time the
whites in the United States called him a
racialist, and extremist, and a Communist. Then
the Black Muslims came along and the whites
thanked the Lord for Martin Luther King.
X I want Dr. King to know that I didn't come to
Selma to make his job difficult. I really did come
thinking I could make it easier. If the white
people realize what the alternative is, perhaps
they will be more willing to hear Dr. King.
X Dr. King wants the same thing I want -freedom!
Black Power
Black Power is a term that emphasizes racial
pride and the desire for African Americans to
achieve equality.
The term promotes the creation of Black political
and social institutions.
The term was popularized by Stokely Carmichael
during The Civil Rights Movement.
Many SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee) members were becoming critical of
leaders that articulated non-violent responses to
racism.
Stokely
Carmichael
The Black Power Movement
Chapter 21, Section 5
SNCC Shifts Gears
• SNCC became more radical under
the leadership of Stokely
Carmichael.
• Carmichael advocated ideas of
black power, which called upon
African Americans to embrace
their heritage, build communities,
and lead their own organizations.
• Black power fostered racial pride
but also led to a major split in the
civil rights movement.
The Black Panthers
• In the fall of 1966, a new militant
political party called the Black
Panthers was formed.
• The Black Panthers wanted
African Americans to lead their
own communities. They also
demanded that the federal
government rebuild the nation’s
ghettos.
• Because the Black Panthers
monitored police activity in the
ghettos, they often found
themselves in violent encounters
with police.
Tommie Smith and
John Carlos
Tommie Smith and
John Carlos give the
Black Power salute at
the 1968 Summer
Olympics.
The two men were
suspended by the
United States team and
banned from Olympic
village.
The action is
considered a milestone
of The Civil Rights
Movement.
Black Panther Party
U.S. African American Militant group.
Founded in 1966 in Oakland.
Led by Huey P. Newton and Bobby Seale.
Believed violent revolution was the only
way to receive freedom.
Urged African Americans to arm
themselves.
The Violent Panthers
In the late 60’s party
leaders got involved in
violent confrontations
with the police.
 The results was death on
both sides.
Huey Newton was tried
in 1967 for killing a
police officer.
Black Panther activist
Bobby Seale, was a
member of the Chicago
Eight.
 A group of eight people
who disrupted the 1968
Democratic convention.
=
1.
Civil Rights turns militant with the
creation of the Black Panther Party in
1965…Below is their 10 Point Plan
WE WANT FREEDOM. WE WANT POWER TO
DETERMINE THE DESTINY OF OUR BLACK
AND OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
2. WE WANT FULL EMPLOYMENT FOR OUR
PEOPLE.
3.
WE WANT AN END TO THE ROBBERY BY THE
CAPITALISTS OF OUR BLACK AND
OPPRESSED COMMUNITIES.
4. WE WANT DECENT HOUSING, FIT FOR THE
SHELTER OF HUMAN BEINGS.
5.
WE WANT DECENT EDUCATION FOR OUR
PEOPLE THAT EXPOSES THE TRUE NATURE
OF THIS DECADENT AMERICAN SOCIETY.
WE WANT EDUCATION THAT TEACHES US
OUR TRUE HISTORY AND OUR ROLE IN THE
PRESENT-DAY SOCIETY.
6. WE WANT COMPLETELY FREE HEALTH CARE
FOR All BLACK AND OPPRESSED PEOPLE.
7.
WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO POLICE
BRUTALITY AND MURDER OF BLACK PEOPLE,
OTHER PEOPLE OF COLOR, All OPPRESSED
PEOPLE INSIDE THE UNITED STATES.
8. WE WANT AN IMMEDIATE END TO ALL WARS
OF AGGRESSION.
9.
WE WANT FREEDOM FOR ALL BLACK AND
OPPRESSED PEOPLE NOW HELD IN U. S.
FEDERAL, STATE, COUNTY, CITY AND
MILITARY PRISONS AND JAILS. WE WANT
TRIALS BY A JURY OF PEERS FOR All PERSONS
CHARGED WITH SO-CALLED CRIMES UNDER
THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY.
10. WE WANT LAND, BREAD, HOUSING,
EDUCATION, CLOTHING, JUSTICE, PEACE AND
PEOPLE'S COMMUNITY CONTROL OF MODERN
TECHNOLOGY.
civil rights
civil rights
civil rights
African
American Voter
Registration
before and after
passage of the
Voting Rights
Act of 1965
civil rights
Riots in the Streets
•
•
•
•
•
The early civil rights movement had focused on de jure
segregation, racial separation created by law.
As laws changed, however, de facto segregation remained. This
separation was caused by social conditions such as poverty.
Frustration and anger over de facto segregation, especially in
ghetto neighborhoods, led to riots in several cities.
The worst of these occurred in the Los Angeles neighborhood of
Watts, where an encounter between a black man and the police
touched off six days of rioting that left many killed or injured.
In response to these riots, the federal government set up a special
National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders. In 1968, the
Commission concluded that the riots were caused by issues that
had been smoldering in ghettos for many years.
Tragedy Strikes in 1968
Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Martin Luther King was fatally shot on
April 4, 1968, by James Earl Ray while
mobilizing support for the Poor
People’s Campaign, an effort to reduce
economic injustice.
• King’s death provoked violent riots in
more than 120 cities. Following his
death, many Americans lost faith in the
idea of nonviolent change.
• Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy
• Robert F. Kennedy was another major
advocate for civil rights.
• Kennedy was shot by an assassin while
campaigning for the 1968 Democratic
presidential nomination, hours after
winning California’s primary.
• Kennedy’s death ended many people’s
hopes for an inspirational leader who
could help heal the nation’s wounds.
Legacy of the Movement
Chapter 21, Section 5
• The civil rights movement resulted in both
advancement and disappointment for many
Americans.
• On one hand, segregation became illegal, and many
more African Americans began to vote. The number of
African American officials rose dramatically. Among
these officials was Barbara Jordan, the first African
American elected to the Texas state senate since
Reconstruction.
• On the other hand, many Americans were
disappointed that change failed to come quickly.
VOTING REQUIREMENTS
These are the factors that States
require people to meet to be
eligible to vote.
Citizenship
• United States citizenship in order to vote.
Residence
• Legal resident of a State to vote in elections.
• States require 30 - 45 day residency in order to vote.
Age
• The 26th Amendment allows 18 year olds to vote
Registration
• A procedure of voter identification intended to prevent
fraudulent voting----exception is North Dakota
Constitutional Restrictions Placed on the States
1. (15th Amendment, 1870)
Citizens guaranteed the right to vote regardless of race,
color or a former slave.
2. (17th Amendment, 1913)
Citizen votes in a State election must be allowed in
national elections.
3. (19th Amendment, 1920)
Citizen cannot be deprived from voting based on sex.
4. (24th Amendment, 1964)
Citizens are not required to pay a poll tax to vote.
5. (26th Amendment, 1971)
18 years of age were given the right to vote.
qual to vote